


Return to Dean

by castielnov4k



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cas has an ex boyfriend called Dean, Dad!Dean, Ficlet, Fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Who is not Dean Winchester, bear with me, queer Jo, young!claire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-17 10:21:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5865637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castielnov4k/pseuds/castielnov4k
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the cute shirts from this jenmish op http://bert-and-ernie-are-gay.tumblr.com/post/137596153447/powerfulweak-i-wasnt-sure-how-my-photo-op-was</p>
            </blockquote>





	Return to Dean

It was official - Cas needed to do his laundry more often.

Last night, his roommate had stumbled home around 4am, which was an impressive feat in itself, considering the state she was in. Ever the responsible one, Cas had gotten up to guide Jo to her bedroom, listening patiently to her slurred recounts of her latest venture.

"Listen, Cas, you don't understand," Jo had insisted, as he sat her down on the bed and removed her frighteningly heavy army boots. Cas had once idly remarked that she was creative for thinking to pair the footwear with her extravagant party dresses, to which Jo had replied 'a girl's gotta stash her knife somewhere'.

"Mm hmm. What don't I understand?"

"This chick had a tongue crafted by the gods, I swear," Jo breathed, lost in the memory. "And thick hair, the kind of hair that you can really knot your fingers in, ya know? That's my favourite kind."

"That's nice," Cas agreed, pulling back the covers. "Here, lie down, make sure not to roll onto your back."

Returning to his own room, Cas had managed to get in a few more hours of sleep, before waking up the next morning to the sounds of the aftermath coming from the bathroom. Her head slumped next to the toilet, Jo had croaked out a request for water and aspirin. While she sipped from the glass he had fetched her, Cas checked the bathroom cupboard, discovering they were fresh out of the medication.

"Not what I want to hear right now, Cas."

He could have left her to deal with the consequences herself, but he felt some level of responsibility for his roommate. She was much younger than him and reminded him of his little sister, who he had always looked out for growing up when their father was distant. As a result, he felt a certain paternal instinct for her. Not that he would ever tell her such a thing, at the risk of getting his ass handed to him. But it had always been the way between them, and they both knew that she depended on him in a way she would never acknowledge out loud. 

So, he left the bathroom to get dressed and run down to the store, only to arrive at his current predicament - in which, he realised he needed to do his laundry more often. 

Standing amongst the various discarded items of dirty clothing on his floor, he held in his hands the only two articles that were clean - a pair of faded jeans, and The Shirt.

The Shirt was plain and white, with five words printed on it in block letters: "If Lost, Return To Dean". The matching "I Am Dean" shirt was out there somewhere, with his ex-boyfriend from five years ago who was the living proof that it was indeed possible to tailspin into a homosexual panic even after buying cute-sy matching t-shirts for you and your boyfriend. Cas wasn't bitter about it anymore but he had nursed a sore spot for a decent amount of time, having carried fairly real feelings for Dean back then. He had forgotten about this shirt after shoving it to the back of his drawer in a drunken mess in the initial days of the breakup, and while it wasn't pleasant to dig up old memories, it was currently his only option that wasn't carrying food stains or sweat patches.

Reluctantly pulling the shirt over his head and vowing to put on a load when he got home, Cas grabbed his wallet and began the walk down to the corner store. 

It was a quick and well practised exercise to find the aisle and pick out the brand of aspirin Jo preferred. He paid for it, and was on his way out of the store when he felt a tug on his pant leg.

He looked down to see a little girl with two blonde braids smiling brightly up at him.

"I found you!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah... You did," Cas laughed uncertainly, casting a look around him. "Where are your parents, sweetheart?"

"At home," she grinned. "I found you, I can take you to Dean now!"

Cas looked down at his shirt. Oh, right.

"He never told me he lost someone," the little girl started babbling. "That's weird, but its okay, I'm sure he'll be happy I found you! Maybe he won't even mind that I snuck out of the house this morning if I take you home to him." 

"You're here alone?" Cas asked, frowning. "What's your name?"

"Claire," she replied.

"Hello Claire," Cas said politely, crouching down to her level. "My name is Cas. Do you know your parents number?"

She shook her head no. "Dean told me I should learn it, but I haven't yet. He said it was in case of emergency. I told him I learned it but I didn't really, I meant to."

"Do you remember the way home?" Cas inquired next. 

Claire brightened at that, nodding. "I snuck out all on my own, before Dean woke up. And now I found you and I can take you to Dean!"

Cas bit his lip, contemplating. She was only seven years old at the oldest, and he felt wrong to leave her to walk home by herself. Her house must not be too far from here, and this "Dean" was probably worried sick about her. 

Claire made the decision for him, taking hold of his hand and tugging him along with her. "Come on Cas!" 

Claire hummed as they walked the surburban streets, apparently delighted with the turn of events. 

"Dean's going to be so happy," she kept repeating.

"Should you be calling him that?" Cas asked, smiling.

"Oh, yes! He always let me call him by his first name. He says its stupid for kids to be expected to follow that 'respecting your elder' crap that everybody talks about. He always says that people should earn respect, not expect it. It's so cool, other kids at school are jealous when they find out the kind of things that Dean lets me do."

Cas narrowed his eyes. "Including going to the store by yourself?"

Claire kicked at a rock. "Well... No. He says I'm not old enough to leave the house by myself yet."

Cas nodded in approval.

"But it was his own fault anyway! He's the one who didn't buy ketchup."

"Is that so?" Cas said sympathetically.

"Yeah!" Claire said indignantly. "He gave me fries last night without any ketchup, as if you can just eat fries without ketchup! And then he got mad at me when I wouldn't eat them. I was angry at first but I don't like it when we fight. So I thought I could buy the ketchup myself and it would fix it and he wouldn't be mad anymore."

"That's a nice gesture," Cas said, fighting back a chuckle. "But you should probably leave it to your dad to buy the groceries. At least until you're a little older. I'm sure he's okay with that."

"Yeah, I guess so," Claire sighed, swinging their joined hands. "I didn't take enough money, and the lady at the store wouldn't even let me buy it. Dean always brings the right amount of money when we come to the store."

"Well maybe he'll buy you ketchup next time," Cas suggested. 

They continued chatting and Cas found that he rather enjoyed Claire's company. She seemed to bounce on her feet as she walked, recounting story after story about Dean to Cas in her chirpy voice. She was clearly very enthusiastic to see his reaction upon having Cas 'returned' to him. It was difficult not to be charmed by the clear adoration Claire carried for her father. 

They rounded a corner, and Claire pointed toward a house on the street.

"We're here!" she announced, breaking into a run and pulling him to the front door. The door opened before they got to it, revealing a man with a worried look on his face.

"Claire?" he called, his voice deep and concerned. 

Claire let go of Cas's hand to bound up to him and leap into his arms. The man caught her, stumbling a little from the impact. The stress in his face started to lessen as he straightened up, and he actually chuckled, brushing back her hair.

"You had me worried sweetheart!" he told her, kissing the side of her head. "Are you okay? Where did you go? You shouldn't leave like that."

She nodded happily. "I'm okay. And I found Cas!"

The man blinked at her. "What?" He looked up to see Cas still standing there. His eyes darted across Cas's shirt.

"I'm assuming you're Dean," Cas offered, smiling nervously.

Dean looked between Cas and Claire a few times, confused and breathless. "Yeah. Yeah, that I am." 

"I found him Dean!" Claire repeated cheerfully. "Why didn't you tell me you lost him? He's really nice. He walked me home just now."

Dean tilted his head at her, then at Cas. The situation seemed to finally register in Dean's head, as he looked over Cas once more. 

"Yeah, it uh," Dean laughed, a spark dancing in his warm eyes. "It must have slipped my mind." He looked back at Claire. "Thank you for returning... Cas to me."

"Castiel Novak," Cas introduced himself shyly, reaching out a hand. Dean shook it. He was extremely attractive, Cas noted. Solidly built, and close to Cas's own height, with rather soft features accentuated by a strong jawline. And his ability to hold a steady eye contact was not helping Cas feel any less flustered. 

"Cas," Dean repeated, quirking a half-smile so that the freckles on one side of his face danced. "Thank you for keeping her safe."

"It was no trouble," Cas insisted, rubbing the back of his neck and willing the flush there to go down. "Um, I should get going, my roommate is waiting for me and I-"

"Wait," Dean interrupted, setting Claire down. He pulled a pen out of his chest pocket, and took Cas's hand in his own. Claire hugged her father's leg, grinning as she looked between the two men towering above her. 

"Just in case," Dean muttered, as he scrawled a number onto Cas's palm. He looked up and smiled. "This way you can call me. Wouldn't want you to get lost again, would we?"


End file.
